Posted on Thu, Mar. 16, 2006
One more shot
Jacob Klein will put the final touches on a successful wrestling career at the NCAA Championships.
BY SCOTT PASKE
The Wichita Eagle
Wrestling in the Big 12 Conference has included several road trips through Kansas on I-135 for Nebraska's Jacob Klein. The road has taken the 23-year-old senior near his father's home in Valley Center. It has brought him past the Kansas Coliseum, the building in which he won three Class 5A individual titles at Kapaun Mount Carmel.
College guys being college guys, Klein occasionally took the opportunity to educate his teammates.
"I've tried to tell them how big of a stud I was in high school," Klein said. "They just kind of say, 'Yeah, whatever.' "
But Klein hasn't spent five years in Nebraska's nationally ranked program basking in past glory. On Tuesday, Klein passed through the Sunflower State en route to Oklahoma City for his fourth appearance in the NCAA Championships, which begin today at the Ford Center.
Klein, the fourth seed in the 32-man bracket at 174 pounds, will wrestle Jim Bertulis of Bloomsburg (Pa.) University in his opening match.
"It's definitely bittersweet, knowing this will be my final college tournament," Klein said. "But it's been a great experience at Nebraska. I couldn't have asked for anything better."
Nine Huskers qualified for the NCAA meet, a school record. Klein, a co-captain along with two-time Big 12 champion B.J. Padden, is one of the team's leaders.
"The key as a coach is finding kids who are not only talented, but want to work hard to develop themselves," Nebraska coach Mark Manning said. "That's what Jacob has done.
"There's been a lot of guys more talented than Jacob, but many of them haven't had the work ethic or the will to fight and push through tough times like he has."
Klein's adjustment from high school to college wrestling came during a redshirt season. Some of the Husker coaching staff was similar to Klein in size and would wrestle him in practice. He also worked with Bryan Snyder, a four-time All-American who finished at NU in 2002.
"I was just hoping to be wrestling varsity by my sophomore year or junior year," Klein said. "But you work hard, and you realize you can reach certain goals that you never thought you could."
Instead, Klein was on the mat as a freshman, posting a 22-13 record. He received a wild-card bid to the NCAAs, winning one match.
His breakthrough came as a sophomore. Unseeded at 165 pounds, Klein won five of seven matches at the NCAA meet to finish seventh and earn All-America honors.
Despite a 20-4 record this season, Klein enters his final NCAA meet looking to atone for recent and past disappointments. Klein's bid to repeat as an All-American during his junior season was denied by Columbia's Matt Palmer, a wrestler he had beaten three months earlier.
Twelve days ago, Klein's final shot at a Big 12 individual title was foiled with a 17-6 loss to Missouri's Ben Askren in the championship match.
Askren (39-0), the nation's top-ranked 174-pounder, and Palmer are in the field with Klein.
"They were better than me on those days," Klein said. "On another day, you never know. My goal is still to be on that top spot on the podium."
